


the peer mentorship program

by lattice12357



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - American High School, Awkwardness, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Falling In Love, Gay, Gender or Sex Swap, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbians, Rule 63, Teen Angst, Volleyball, baby gays, not too intense, realizing you're not straight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29928423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lattice12357/pseuds/lattice12357
Summary: daichi: most popular girl in school, has her shit together. suga: the delinquent/weird/loser new girl. they are not fans of each other...for now.....(this author loves <3 wlw <3 lesbians <3 gay girls <3 )
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	the peer mentorship program

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi. both characters will be a little ooc at the beginning of the story but evolve to embody their more canon personalities in later chapters, don't worry!

“So.” Mr. Johnson, a Black man in his late 40’s, let out a sigh as hefty as his belly. “Let’s see. Miss...Sugawara.” He peered down at the laptop in front of him through his glasses. “You enrolled here mid-September for your senior year due to...extenuating circumstances.” Suga barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. “Mr. Sugawara, you assured us that your daughter was a very bright student and would have no trouble catching up. However. She finished her third week of school today having been absent from individual classes twenty times. That’s not including her four unexcused full-day absences.” Suga’s dad turned to her looking wounded; she refused to make eye contact.

“Additionally, I have notes here from some of her teachers. There have been complaints that she is,” Mr. Johnson scrolled on his laptop to find the direct quotes, “‘rude and disruptive...has no respect for the material or her teachers...seems to have the goal of learning as little as possible.’ Miss Sugawara, I’ll be honest with you. There’s enough here to suspend you, and you’re on the path towards expulsion.”

“Excellent,” Suga said, completely straight-faced. “Is there anything I can do to expedite that process? Aside from, you know, burning down the school or something.”

“ _ Koushi Sugawara! _ ” her father said, aghast.

“You have no interest in receiving your high school diploma?” Mr. Johnson asked disapprovingly.

Suga shrugged. “I could pass a high school equivalency test easily right now. And I don’t plan on staying in the U.S. anyway. Just have to wait until I’m eighteen. I’m stuck here until then.”

Mr. Johnson sighed. “Technically, you’ve already reached truant status. As such, Mr. Sugawara, if Miss Sugawara misses more school, we as the administration have to report you to law enforcement. You’d then be subject to fines, and potentially even jail time.” 

Suga’s eyes widened before she caught herself.  _ What the hell? God, the U.S. was a fucked-up place.  _ She didn’t like her dad by any stretch of the imagination, but she also didn’t want to send him to jail. Besides, he was the one who paid for everything. She refused to turn to the side and look him in the eye. 

“Ahem.” Mr. Johnson continued. “However. We do have another option for you. This school has a special peer mentorship program. If you log a certain number of hours with your peer mentor, you can cancel out some of your absences. She would also be able to help you catch up on the schoolwork you missed and hopefully boost your grades.”

Suga’s dad sighed and turned to her. “What do you think, Koushi? How does that sound?”

He looked so hopeful. Her own hazel eyes stared back at her.  _ Fuck it. How bad could it be? _

~~~

When Daichi thought about the beginning of her senior year of high school, the words that came to mind were “as it should be.”

Classes hadn’t gotten too hard yet; she wasn’t up against any immediate deadlines for college applications or volleyball. It was still warm enough for her and her friends to sit outside during lunch (at the most coveted table on campus--sunny, but still dappled with shade, and in the center of the courtyard). She had a big group of friends who were fun to be around. Oh, and she had her boyfriend Bryce, who was also friends with all her friends. The two of them were constantly getting complimented on how cute they were together. 

And her teachers all liked her. Well, everyone did. She was student body president and volleyball team captain. But still humble--the type to take on leadership roles because she’d worked hard, and because other people thought she would do a good job.

Yes, everything was as it should be. Even the email asking if she would take on a peer mentee fit with the positive image she had of her life. She replied to Mr. Johnson with an enthusiastic yes, despite a sneaking feeling that she was overloading herself with responsibilities.

That was what Bryce commented as she walked him to his locker after their last period (English with Ms. Hawe, a frankly terrifying woman with a soft spot for Daichi). 

“You sure you want to do this, Di? I mean, volleyball hasn’t even ramped up yet. I couldn’t even imagine doing all of that now, while I’m in season. ‘S too intense--hey Chris!” Bryce called across the busy hallway. The kid waved back timidly.  _ Probably a soccer freshman.  _ “Yeah, it’s just too intense right now, with all of our practices and games. You’re coming to the one on Friday, right? It’s home against Layhill. They gave us some trouble last year, but I think our defense is stronger now.”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Daichi said, watching him stuff notebooks and loose papers into his backpack. “Everyone’s going.” To them,  _ everyone  _ meant the entire friend group: Michaela, Angela, Sophie, Wendy, and Yasmine; Jeff, Marcus, Julio, Sean, and Luke. And Daichi and Bryce, of course. Six girls, six guys.

“I know. But I wanted to make extra sure you were too.” Bryce slammed his locker closed and grinned down at her. She felt her stomach flutter. He was undeniably handsome, with medium-brown skin and a gorgeous face. Him being athletic and a good seven inches taller than Daichi’s 5’5” didn’t hurt either. “What were we talking about? Oh yeah, how you’re going to quit your peer mentor thing so we have more time to hang out.”

Daichi rolled her eyes as they walked toward her locker. “You wish. Also, weren’t you just saying how little time you have now? Leading the soccer team and all.”

“Hmm, true. I’d quit soccer for you, babe.” Daichi tried to suppress a smile as he leaned over her, batting his eyelashes while she opened her locker.

“I highly doubt that.”

“Try me.” He kissed her briefly. “Alright, I should go.”

“Have fun!”

“You too! Hopefully your person’s not a loser.” Bryce squeezed her waist and gave her another quick peck on the lips before heading off to the locker rooms.

She barely had a moment to mourn the fact that she wasn’t currently making out with him. Another familiar presence popped up by her side.

“Di! We didn’t want to bother you while you were with Bryce,” Yasmine said.

“Oooh, Bryce,” Angela teased.  _ Ah, two presences.  _

“Hey! What’s up?” Daichi slammed her locker closed and turned to face them.

“Walk with me to the front door,” Yasmine said, turning and striding away. They followed, of course. “God, the three of us look so hot together today. Anyway. Di, Sophie’s having issues with the new stuff we’re doing in bio, and I said I’d help her, but now I’m confused by the history paper and Sean said I could copy his--well, not copy, just look at, to understand how to do it, you know? But I’m afraid I won’t have enough time to do that and help Sophie. So Angela was like ‘who do we know who’s good at bio’ and we both immediately were like, ‘Di!!!!’ I know she would really, really appreciate it--you know how shy she gets about asking for help, but if you offered? She’s waiting downstairs by the exit--”

“I’m sorry, I have to do this peer mentor thing.” Daichi winced and tried to look apologetic.

“Noooo,” Angela groaned. “Can’t you get out of it?”

“It’s the first day, so I really can’t--but isn’t there a bio study group here on Mondays?”

Angela and Yasmine couldn’t look more different, but their frowns were the same. “Di,” Yasmine sighed. “You’re really doing another commitment on top of volleyball and student gov? Who is the kid you’re mentoring anyway?”

“I don’t know, I’m meeting her for the first time today; one of the administrators set it up….” Daichi trailed off, her steps slowing. At the end of the hallway, Mr. Johnson stood waiting next to--

_ Oh, hell no. _

~~~

_ You have got to be kidding me. _

Walking toward her were three obnoxious assholes. Suga made a point of not learning anyone’s name at this cursed school, but it was impossible to forget these girls’ faces. They were everywhere--volunteering in her classes, talking on the morning announcements, passing out fliers for fundraisers at lunch, eating in the middle of the courtyard with all their stupid friends. Walking through the hallways, waving to people like they were royalty. Even now, they all had their heads together, whispering and pointing at her.  _ Real classy, your highnesses. _

They were  _ not  _ pretty, Suga told herself firmly. Not the petite East Asian girl wearing tight jeans and a tight moss-green shirt with necklaces layered over it. Or the tall Black girl wearing a blue dress with a slouchy, light pink crewneck sweater. 

And absolutely, definitely not the one whose name she knew despite herself. Athletic-looking, wearing a soft red t-shirt and relaxed fit jeans. With pearl earrings. And her long, shiny black hair in a side braid. As if she were better than everyone else, trying to pull some cute, casual, girl-next-door shit. The preppiest, snobbiest bitch in the entire school: Daichi Sawamura.

~~~

Koushi Sugawara. Out of all the people in this school, she got set up with her? Even from far away, there was something unsettling about her. That girl needed professional help, not a peer mentor.

“Oh my god,” Angela whispered, playing with one of her necklaces nervously. “Ew, she’s  _ still  _ wearing the same black sweatshirt--there’s no way that’s who--”

“I really, really hope it’s not. For your sake, Di. C’mon, Angela--hey, text us later, okay?” Yasmine said, directing her last comment at Daichi with raised, perfectly shaped eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Daichi said glumly. “See ya.” Yasmine and Angela peeled off and she walked up to Mr. Johnson as if nothing was wrong. “Hey, Mr. Johnson!” She glanced over to Koushi and tried to smile. Koushi just stared back blankly.

“Di! Koshi Sugawara, meet Di Sawamura. Unless you already know each other?”

They locked eyes. “Uh, I think we’re in a few classes together,” Daichi said. “But nice to officially meet you.”

Koushi’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Same.”

“Great! Well, I have something for you each to sign--” He handed them each a clipboard. Daichi’s paper was pretty basic, and clearly was made in three minutes.

PEER MENTOR PROGRAM!!

As a Peer Mentor, I, ________________ , commit to:

  * Spending at least six hours with my mentee a week (2-3 afternoons/week).
  * Helping my mentee with academic and/or social issues to the best of my ability.
  * Logging mentoring hours truthfully and accurately and sending them to Mr. Johnson every week.
  * Reporting to staff if any incident happens during a Peer Mentor session that makes me feel uncomfortable or unsafe.



  
  
  
  


______________________ ____________

(signature) (date)

  
  
  


_Any incident that makes me uncomfortable? We’re already there._ Daichi snuck a glance at Koushi, who was still reading. She wondered if she’d be able to smell the black sweatshirt up close. _Ew._ _Quick, look away before she sees you._

Wait a minute. She’d been a babysitter and camp counselor for years and she had two bratty younger siblings. She was well-versed in dealing with irrational, immature people. There was no reason to be scared. And six hours a week was nothing, really. She name-sign-dated the paper quickly and handed it back to Mr. Johnson.

“Thanks, Di--ah, and thank you, Koshi! Koshi or Kooshi--am I saying that right?” 

Koushi shrugged, impassive. Daichi noticed her grip on her bag tighten. “Yeah, you got it.”

He grinned. “Great! Sorry about that, I’m not so good with all these different languages. Alright. Well, of course, both of you know how to find me, so reach out if you’ve got any questions or concerns, alright?”

“Sure,” Daichi said, smiling and nodding.

“Well, you two have fun now! But not too much fun.” He laughed as if it were an inside joke.

“Ha, okay!” she responded, watching him go back into his office. She turned back to Koushi. “Uh. So...what do you want to do?”

The other girl shrugged. “I dunno.  _ You’re  _ the mentor.”

“Okay. Well, do you feel like working on school stuff?”

Koushi snorted.

“We could go to your house?”

“No.”

“Um…” Daichi really didn’t want to offer up her house. “We could just walk around?”

Koushi shrugged, which wasn’t a snort or an explicit ‘no,’ so Daichi figured it was the best she was going to get. “‘Kay.” She began to walk toward the school’s exit; thankfully, Koushi followed.

As expected, her mentee made no attempt to start conversation. Daichi tried opening with a casual, “So...where did you move here from?”

“Japan.”

“Oh, wow! What part?”

Koushi cut her eyes over at Daichi, as if sizing her up. “Why?”

“What?”

“Do you  _ know  _ any of Japan’s regions? Why bother asking if the answer isn’t going to mean anything to you?”

Daichi felt anger burn through her chest. Who did this girl think she was? With her short, choppy gray hair and that ratty orange t-shirt she wore all the time and those ugly, worn-out jeans and her shitty attitude. And that disgusting, ancient sweatshirt. Daichi was the one doing  _ her  _ a favor. But the worst part was...Koushi was right.

“I was asking because I’ve been to Japan a couple times. I don’t know the geography well, just that my family’s from Aichi. So I was wondering if you were from around there.”

Koushi chose to answer her question with a question. “Do you speak Japanese?”

Was this ‘make Daichi feel insecure about not being ‘Japanese’ enough’ hour? “Not fluently.”

Koushi nodded. A beat or two went by. “Aichi is southwest of Tokyo. Where I’m from is north.”

“Oh.” Daichi’s competitive side still felt the need to prove herself. Show that she was knowledgeable. Koushi’s equal. “Your name--it’s pronounced Koushi, right?”

“...Yes?”

“I mean, not the way Johnson was saying it.”

“Oh. Yeah. Normally I just go by Suga.”

Daichi nodded, making the mental adjustment.

A moment or two went by. They walked down the suburban road. It was October, and pleasantly warm.

Suga was the next person to break the silence, to Daichi’s relief. “I’m gonna stop at the convenience store.”

Oh. Not an attempt at conversation. “Sure.”

“I’m going to go in alone, so they don’t card you too. You can go first if you want something.”

Daichi was about to be her accommodating, friendly self and agree before the words registered. “Wait, what are you buying? You’re not eighteen, are you?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But--”

“Are you going in?”

“No, I don’t need anything.”

Suga strode ahead to the 7-Eleven. Daichi waited outside.  _ Should I subtract this time from our mentoring total, because we’re not together? Maybe if it ends up being more than five minutes.  _

Turned out there was no need to worry; it took all of three for Suga to come back out, shoving a bag of chips into her messenger bag. “Mind if I smoke?”

_ Is that what she was buying? Cigarettes?!  _ “Uh. A cigarette?”

Suga laughed out loud. “Unless you’ve got weed you’d like to share.” She resumed walking, pulling a lighter out of her messenger bag and unwrapping her new pack of American Spirits from its clear plastic.

“Wait.” Daichi jogged to catch up with her. “Yes. I do mind you smoking.” Suga glared over, annoyed. “One, I’m an athlete; secondhand smoke is bad for my lungs. Two, it’s even more unhealthy for  _ you.  _ Three--how did you even get those?”

“You’re an  _ athlete, _ ” Suga repeated flatly.

“Yes. Volleyball.”

Suga snorted and muttered something like ‘figures.’ “Can you just walk a bit ahead? So the smoke doesn’t bother you.”

“That kind of defeats the purpose of us hanging out.”

“Oh my  _ god,”  _ she groaned, but stashed the cigarettes and lighter in her bag.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What?”

“How did you get those. If you’re not eighteen.”

Suga laughed derisively again. “Why would I tell you? You’re just going to rat me out.”

“No I wouldn’t.” Daichi’s mentee raised a pale eyebrow and smirked. Her eyes were rimmed with dark liner.  _ Is she trying to look cool or something?  _ “I wouldn’t!”

“Whatever you say, Daichi.”

~~~

“Whatever you say, Daichi,” Suga sighed.  _ God, would she give it a rest? _

“Just call me Di.” 

She stared at Daichi blankly. A chunk of dark hair was coming loose from the other girl’s side braid, and she was beginning to get red spots on her cheeks. “You don’t like the name Daichi.”

“No. I mean, no, I don’t mind it. Everyone just...calls me Di. You know, like Diana.”

Suga shrugged. “Then I’ll just say Daichi. If you don’t mind.” She said it precisely because she had a feeling Daichi  _ did  _ mind, and she welcomed any opportunity to piss the obnoxious girl off. This afternoon had already been a huge headache, and Suga had a feeling that it had only lasted about twenty minutes.

They were quiet for a while, which was ideal. 

“We could go back to my house and watch a movie. It’s just ten minutes away.”

Suga felt her face cringe reflexively.  _ Oh god, it’s like we’re on the worst date ever.  _ “How do I know you’re not going to kill me?”

Daichi squinted with disdain. “Why would I go through all of this to kill you?”

“Well, maybe it’s not premeditated. Maybe you just decide to do it because you’re overcome by how much you hate me.”

The dark-haired girl flushed further. “I don’t hate you.” Even her tone of voice was unconvincing.  _ Ooh, Miss Rule-Follower was a shitty liar. Who would have seen that coming? _

“Whatever you say.”

“I--!” Daichi cut herself off, realizing there was no point in letting herself get carried away. “Whatever. Do you want to come over or not?”

Suga sighed. “You can’t round this up to three hours?” Daichi’s unimpressed expression said it all. “Fine.”

“Uh, my parents might be home. They’ll probably want to speak to you in Japanese, if they figure out you’re from there. And I have two little siblings.”

“‘K.”

“They might be annoying--”

“‘S fine.”

~~~

The two of them fell into an awkward silence.

Daichi really hadn’t wanted to go to her house, but what else was she supposed to do? Suga was entirely useless. And mean, but she should have expected as much. Daichi’s fingers twitched with the urge to text her friends for support, but it was probably bad form to use her phone during this thing.

Her mom was teleworking, apparently, so Daichi yelled a quick ‘hello’ and shepherded Suga downstairs as fast as humanly possible. Daichi cleared a spot for her on the squishy beige tv couch, apologizing over and over for the mess (toys strewn around, a basket of laundry sitting out, the occasional Cheerio underfoot, etc). Suga rolled her eyes and shrugged, which Daichi chose to interpret as ‘whatever, it’s not a big deal.’ After asking if her guest wanted anything to eat or drink (no), Daichi kneeled in front of the DVD shelf, scouring it for something that would work for this...situation.

“We’ve got a lot of kids movies, obviously. And some classics, some older stuff. The Harry Potter movies. Or we could just rent something on the tv.” She turned around to see if Suga would offer any input. The other girl was sitting pressed up against one side of the couch, arms folded. She was in her orange t-shirt, the infamous sweatshirt draped around her hips. And her nipples were definitely kind of visible.  _ God, how embarrassing.  _ Not that Daichi was looking at them, obviously. 

Suga shrugged. “I don’t care.”

“Is there anything you specifically don’t like?”

Another shrug and a very bored, impassive look.

“Um, okay. Guess I’ll pick, then.” Daichi turned back to the shelf, reminding herself to  _ relax, breathe; her attitude is not your problem.  _ Might as well choose something she herself wanted to see.

Five minutes in, Daichi was berating herself.  _ Tangled _ , really? Every moment of it became cringe-worthy when Suga was sitting on the other side of the couch like a black hole. 

Halfway through the movie, her mom came down to interrupt. Daichi paused with the remote, wavering between embarrassment and relief.

“Hello, nice to meet you! I’m Daichi’s mother. I brought you two some fruit I cut.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Sawamura. I’m Sugawara Koushi.” Suga stood, responded in Japanese, and bowed. Then Daichi lost track of the conversation completely. She thought there was maybe some ‘thank you for having me in your lovely home’ and ‘I’m just sorry our home is so dirty!” back-and-forth, then Suga explaining where she was from. 

The two of them were definitely going fast and using a lot of words she didn’t know, but Daichi was most thrown off by how radically different Suga acted. It was unnerving, watching the rude, uncommunicative girl brighten and speak eloquently and respectfully--to Daichi’s  _ mom,  _ no less.

“Excuse me!” Daichi said brightly, in English. “Suga and I started hanging out at 2:30, and it’s getting on to 4:30 now.” It was more like 4:15, but close enough. “Suga, I should probably get started with my homework soon. Do you want to stay and we can work together?”

“That’s okay, I should probably be getting home soon,” Suga said easily. 

“I can give you a ride!” Daichi’s mom interjected. “Where do you live?”

“Oh no, it’s a twenty minute walk. Thank you, but I’d rather stretch my legs.” She slung her messenger bag over her shoulder and grabbed her sweatshirt off of the couch.

“Are you sure? Really?” 

“Definitely. But I really appreciate it, Mrs. Sawamura.”

“Uh, Suga. Before you go, can I get your phone number? So it’s easier to talk about when to hang out.”

“Yeah, it’s--one second.” She dug in her canvas bag to retrieve her phone. “Okay...916. 732. 42...44. Thank you for having me.” Suga edged toward the stairs, then followed Daichi’s mom up them.

“Of course! It’s so nice that Daichi has a new friend who speaks Japanese. Maybe some of it will rub off on her!” She laughed; Suga chuckled politely. Daichi followed the two of them to the door, still holding the fruit plate and feeling very much like a third wheel. 

And then Suga was gone, beat-up teal sneakers and all.

“Such a pretty, sweet girl. What a shame that she wears such ugly clothes! And that horrible eyeliner.” Daichi was caught between telling off her mom for being so critical and agreeing.  _ But wait a minute. Pretty?  _

“She’s definitely not pretty, mom. I see her at school every day; trust me, I know.” Daichi popped a piece of cantaloupe into her mouth and laid her arms and head down on the kitchen counter.

“So this girl is not your friend.”

“No, I’m doing this stupid peer mentorship program. She’s kind of a delinquent? Like, she never talks in school except to say rude stuff to teachers. She never does any work, and she’ll get up and just go wander around the hallways.” Daichi popped up to take some blueberries, then laid back down. “And she’s always absent. Or late. It’s so disruptive.”

“And you signed up to hang out with her.”

Daichi sighed. “I didn’t know it would be her. But I’m not going to back out now. That’s like letting her win.”

“So competitive, my Dai-chan.” Her mom rubbed her back for a moment until her siblings came bursting through the door with her dad. “Unload the dishwasher, ‘k?”

“Uh huh.” Daichi kept her forehead on the cool granite, thinking about all the assignments she had to work on tonight. Next time, she and Suga were doing homework. Well, she was doing homework. Suga could sit there and pick her nose for all Daichi cared.

It was a lot easier to take a confident stand when Suga wasn’t there in person. Looming over her, creepy, chock-full of angst and entirely unnerving--wait a minute,  _ was  _ Suga taller than her? Daichi had thought she was, but now she was doubting herself--no, Suga definitely was. She pulled out her phone and began the arduous process of typing up the shitshow of an afternoon for the group chat.

~~~

_ Dear Mom, _

_ I miss you more every day. I thought it was supposed to be reversed, that this got easier with time. I spoke Japanese with a Japanese woman today (who also has a kid my age) and I almost cried. I think she and her husband are both from Aichi, but their kids were born here. _

_ I wake up every day thinking this all will have been a nightmare, that I’ll come out of my normal bedroom and you’ll be sitting at the table. _

_ I’m sorry, again, for how I’ve been acting. It’s just for a little while. I hope you can understand. _

_ I need to find one of my better pens; this one gets all bleedy even from a tiny bit of water. _

_ Love, your daughter, _

_ Koushi _

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know if you enjoyed this! I'm very excited for this au :) the hq fandom seems to hate wlw lol so if you made it here this is for you <3


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